The Evolving Commonwealth

broader in its membership and more heterogenous in its characteristics than was the old. As variegated as some of the empires of history, it .has no common standard of thought and action. It may soon have no common language, for English, even in its cisatlantic version, is not going to last forever. Parliamentary democracy is no longer a common factor among its members. But the Commonwealth has, no doubt, a common basis in the conviction that it serves the interests of its peoples who enjoy or aspire to a form of government that represents their will. That, and acceptance of Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth is the foundation on which the association rests today. This does not mean there are no large common areas or substantial uniformities. It means that most definitions of the unifying factors of the Commonwealth of Nations find exceptions. Common racial descent ceased to be a bond in 1947, the monarchical system of government in 1949, and Pakistani parliamentary democracy underwent modification last year. Authoritarianism is clearly developing in other realms. Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah has said that in Africa independence would require "authoritarian measures," and that African peoples would have to accept "positive discipline." The expectation that new members of the Commonwealth in Africa and Asia will automatically and mechanically adopt Western ideas has no basis. If it existed, it is already disappointed.